Combination ladder and receptacle



Dec. 25, 1956 H. GLEITSMAN 2,775,499

COMBINATION LADDER AND RECEPTACLE Filed March 18, 1953 a; 7 PM 13a 3 70 do 120 123 2 l"\' 1d l "16 g I ,LL 5 INVENTOR.

36 2; 1 air 5 H2 flaw/a Eleifsmap 92 P4 12 34 3258 9 BY R ATTORNEYS COMBINATION LADDER AND RECEPTACLE Harold Gleitsman, New Rochelle, N. Y. Application March 18, 1953, Serial No. 343,029

3 Claims. Cl. 312-235 This invention relates generally to improvements in receptacles and, more particularly, to improvements in receptacles having a laddercombined therewith.

One object of the present invention is the provision of a receptacle'having a ladder combined therewith in which the receptacle constitutes a (firm support for the ladder when the latter is extended for use.

An'other object of the present invention is the provision of a combination ladder and receptacle of the above character in which the receptacle is provided with a plurality of compartments with one of the compartments constituting a clothes hamper compartment and another one of the compartments constituting a ladder compartment.

Yet another object of the present invention is the provision of a combination ladder and receptacle of the above character which is of generally improved construction and appearance, and which is extremely light and compact to facilitate the movement and storage of the same.

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be more fully understood from the following description considered'in connection with the accompanying illustrative drawings:

in the drawings which illustrate the best modes now contemplated by me tor practising the invention:

Fig. l is a front perspective view of the combination ladder and receptacle showing the ladder in an extended position for use;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken on the line 2-4 of Fig.- 1 with the receptacle cover being shown in closed position in solid lines;

(Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on the line G-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view on an enlarged scale, taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary perspective sectional view of ap'ortion of a modified (form of combination ladder and receptacle;

'Fig. 6 is a fragmentary perspective view of another modified form of combination ladder and receptacle; and

Fig. 7 is a rear perspective view of yet another modilied form of combination ladder and receptacle.

Referring to the drawing in'detail, and more particularly to Figs. 1 to 3 thereof, there is shown a receptacle 10 which comprises a closed bottom 12, upright laterally spaced side walls 14, a rear wall 16, and a top cover 18. The receptacle 10 may be formed of any suitable material and in the illustrated embodiment the side walls .14 and the rear wall 16 are formed at a single length of wickerwork, as indicated at W, for a purpose which will be ap parent from the description which follows. Secured to an intermediate portion of the side walls 14 and the bottom Wall 12 in any suitable manner is an upright partition me m-i her 20 which divides the receptacle 10 into a pair of upj right compartments 22 and 24. The upright partition member 20 is preferably formed of sheet metal or the like and is provided with laterally projecting side wall portions 26 terminating in generally U-shaped end portions 28 which are adapted to be positioned overadjacent side edge portions of the side walls 14. The portions 26 and 28 are preferably in integral relation with the member-20 and marginal side edge portions 30 of the side Walls 14 are adapted to be received and secured in the U-shaped portions 28. The bottom wall 12 is aperturedtherethrough at .a pair of spaced points, as indicated at 32, for the reception therethrough of the flange portions 34 of member 20 which arebent back adjacent the outer face of said 'bottom wall in. the manner shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The receptacle 10 is provided with a pair of vertically spaced lower :and upper frame members 36 and 38, respectively,

which are of generally U-sh aped configuration. With reference to Fig. 3, it will be noted that the upper frame member 38 is U-shaped in cross section and straddles the upper marginal edge portion of the side walls 14 and the rear wall 16, said frame member being clamped in tight relative engagement to said marginal edge portions. The end portions 42 of the frame. member 38are secured to upper portions 44 of the U-shaped portions 28 iby the fastenerxelements 46 whereby it will be apparent that the frame member 38 is secured to the side walls 14, the rear wall 16, and to the portions 28 of the partition mem ber 20. The bottom frame member 36 is angle shaped;

in cross section and has a vertical portion 48 positioned adjacent to the side walls 1 4 and rear wall 16, and, end

portions '50 of said bottom frame member are secured to lower end portions 52 of portions 28 in .any suitable manner, as by means of the fastening elements 54. The bottom frame member 36 serves to inter-connect the side: walls 114 and rear wall 16 .with the bottom wall .112 and also serves to structurally rig-idify the receptacle'10 by the inter-connection of portions '50 with the portions 28 of the partition member 20. lit is to be noted that the fastener elements 54, extend through the verticalportion 48 of the frame member 36, the sidewallsl i and the portions 26 of member 20 whereby to insure a structurally rigidassembly. The frame member '36 is further provided with a longitudinally extending flange portion. 56 which is disposed adjacent to lower marginal edge portions of the side walls 1-4 and the rear wall 16 at the outer face thereof. The bottom frame member 36 is aperturedl therethrough as indicated at 62 near the front of receptacle 10 for the extension therethrough of the brackets 58, each of saidbrackets having a vertical portion 60 which is secured to the side walls of the receptacle by means of the fastener elements 54. Portions of the brackets '58 extends through the apertures 62 of the bottom frame member 36 and the base portions 64 of said brackets are secured to the bottom wall 12 by means of the fastener elements 66. Thus the brackets 5-8 serve to inter-connect the side walls 1'4 and bottom wall 12 of the receptacle -10 to further structurally rigidity the as-f' sembly.

The compartment 22 at the rear of receptacle 10 con-: stitutes a conventional clotheshamper having side walls 14 and a rear wall 16 formed of wickerwork W to provide for the ventilation of said clothes hamper. The top cover 18 constitutes a closure for the hamper compartment 22 and is movable from the closed position shown in solid lines in Fig. 2 to open position shown in broken lines in said figure. -The pivotal movement of the cover18is effected by means of the plate hinges 70, one part 72 of Patented Dec. 25,1956

said hinges being secured to the cover 18 and the other pivotally connected part 74 being connected to the receptacle proper, and more particularly, to the part 76 of the upper frame member 38. The openable cover 18 is provided with a forward cutaway portion 78 which is adapted for a purpose which will be evident from the description which follows. A longitudinally extending rod 80 is secured in position by the upper frame member 38 with said rod being disposed upwardly of the marginal edge portions 40 of the side walls 14 and rear wall 16. The upper top edge of the member 20 is preferably constituted by a tubular formation 82 in which a longitudinally extending rod 84 is disposed similar to the rod 80 contained in the frame member 38. Suitable carrying handles 86 are secured to the side walls 14 of the receptacle 10, and, more particularly, said carrying handles are secured to the upper frame member 38 by means of suitable fastening elements 88. The generally U-shaped bumpers 90, which may be formed of any suitable material, are attached 'to the side walls 14 and the member 20 at upper edges thereof by frictional engagement to prevent engage ment between cover 18 and frame 38 as will be readily apparent. Secured to the bottom wall 12 of the receptacle are a plurality of spaced legs 92 which may be formed of any suitable material and which may be connected to said bottom wall in any desired manner, for example by means of the fastener elements 94, shown in Fig. 4. In the illustrated embodiment of Figs. 1 through 3, the openable cover 18 is formed of a pair of confronting panels 96 and 98 which are secured together in any desired manner with the upper panel 98 being preferably coveredby a smooth and readily washable material, such as plastic sheeting, or the like.

Associated with the compartment 24 and movable relative thereto, in a manner to be described in detail hereinafter, is a ladder 102 which comprises a pair of laterally spaced longitudinally extending channel members 104 having extending therebetween and secured thereto a pair of vertically spaced steps 106, the latter being laterally offset widthwise and substantially horizontally disposed when said ladder is disposed in the extended position shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The steps 106 may take any desired form and may be secured to the members 104 in any desired manner, as by means of the fastener elements 108. The upper faces of the steps 106 preferably have secured thereto treads 110 formed of an anti-slip material, such as rubber, plastic, and the like. The lower ends 111 of the members 104 are of reduced width and have feet 112 positioned thereover, said feet being formed of rubber or a suitable anti-slip material. The ends 114 of the members 104 are floatingly pivotally mounted in the compartment 24 in a manner to be described in detail hereinafter. The wall portions 26 of the compartment 24 have longitudinally extending vertically disposed track members 116 secured thereto, each of said track members being in the form of channel members which have the upper part 117 thereof formed with bent over portions 118 so as to define the longitudinally extending slot 120. The ends 114 of members 104 are apertured therethrough and have pivot studs 122 secured thereto in any suitable manner, as by means of fastener elements 123, said studs having a portion 124 of reduced diameter which is formed complementary to the slot 120, and a portion 126 of enlarged diameter which is adapted to ride in the track slots 128 constituted by the members 116. Thus the studs 122, which are secured to one end of the ladder 102, are adapted to ride in the slots 128 constituted by the members 116, said studs constituting a pivotal mounting for the ladder 102 and are vertically movable between spaced positions, as will be described in detail hereinafter. Secured to the members 116 in any suitable manner are upper and lower stops, 130 and 132, respectively, said upper stop having a projecting portion 134 which is adapted to co-act with portion 126 so as to prevent said portion from being fully retracted from the members 116.

.4 The stops may be secured to the members 116 in any desired manner, and in the illustrated embodiment said stops are secured in position by means of the fastener elements 46 which also extend through frame member 38. it is to be understood that each of the members 116 and their associated structure is structually identical and is integrated with the receptacle 10 in a structurally identical manner. The lower stop members 132 are welded or otherwise secured to the members 116 and have bentover portions which project into the slots 120 so as to co-act with the part 124 to limit the movement of the latter in a vertically downward direction. Thus the pivot studs 122 which are secured to one end of the ladder 102, are guided for a predetermined amount of vertical movement whereby it will be apparent that the end 114 of the ladder 102 is movable between spaced vertical positions. Thus the ladder 102 is movable from a retracted position, as shown in broken lines in Fig. 2, in which said ladder is substantially contained in compartment 24 to an extended position shown in solid lines in Figs. 1 and 2 in which the lower or free end of said ladder is spaced from the receptacle 10 for support by the supporting surface S. Thus ladder 102 is mounted for movement outwardly of the compartment 24 through the open front of the receptacle 10 to extended positions in which the ends 111 of the members 104 are disposed in spaced relation with the receptacle 10 wherefore it will be apparent that when the ladder 102 is in an extended position it is supported by the receptacle 10 and the supporting surface S. In practice, the ladder is readily movable to extended positions by moving the free end of said ladder outwardly of the compartment 24 to thereby permit the pivotally mounted end of said ladder to ride to the lowered position in which the pivot studs 122 coact with the lower stops 132 in the aforedescribed manner. The ladder 102 may be readily retracted into the compartment 24 by moving the pivotally mounted end of said ladder to a raised position, as limited by the interengagement of parts 126 and stops 130, to thereby permit the free end of said ladder to be pivoted to its retracted position in which the free end of said ladder is supported by the bottom wall 12 of compartment 24. When the ladder 102 is in an extended position the openable cover 18 is laterally offset widthwise of top step 106' and constitutes a top step of the ladder. Thus with the ladder in an extended position the top step thereof is constituted by the openable cover 18 which in effect profigcels a substantial increase in the elfective height of said a er.

With reference to Fig. 5,. there is shown a slightly modified form of the present invention which is structurally similar in all respects to the receptacle 10 except in the respects now to be described in detail. In the modification shown in Fig. 5, the wall portions 26' which are integral with the partition member 20, have integrated therewith the track members 150, the latter being constituted by the doubled over portion 152, with the latter having doubled over portions 154 disposed between portions 152 and portions 26. Member defines a longitudinally extendingvertically disposed slot 156 which is adapted for the reception of the part 126 of the stud 122 as described in detail above. The lower stop means for member 150 is constituted by the end of the slot 158 which is adapted for cooperative association with part 124 of stud 1.22 and the upper stop means is constituted by the part 160 which is welded or otherwise secured to outer face portions of portion 152 of the member 150, From the above it will be apparent that the member 150 is in integral relation with the partition member 20' and the wall 26', and that the pivot stud 122 coacts with the slot 156 in the same manner as described with reference to receptacle 10. Accordingly, the member 150 functions in a similar manner as the members 116 of receptacle 10 to guide the ladder for vertical movement between spaced upper and lower positions,

With reference to Fig. 6, there is shown a slightl modified form of receptacle in which the partition member 20" is slotted at an upper portion thereof, as indicated at 162, whereby to providean alternate means for carrying said receptacle. Thus the slot 162 defines a handle portion 164 which provides a convenient means for carrying the receptacle, itbeing understood that said carrying means may be provided either in addition to the carrying handles 86 aforedescribed or in place of said carrying handles.

With reference to Fig. 7, there is shown a receptacle which differs from the receptacle 10 in respects now to be described in detail. In the receptacle 10', the cover 18' is fixed in position and is not of the openable type as the cover 18 aforedescribed. The compartment 22 is formed similarly to compartment 22 of receptacle 10 except that compartment 22' is open at the back of the receptacle as indicated at 170. The compartment 22' constitutes a storage bin which is adapted to contain a plurality of articles and is preferably provided with a plurality of vertically spaced, horizontally disposed shelves 172 which are secured in said compartment in any desired manner, for example, by securing end portions 174 of said shelves 172 to the side walls 176 and by securing the rear edges 178 to the partition member 182. The lower frame member 186 preferably terminates at 184 at opening 170 so as not to interfere with the bottom shelf of compartment 22' which is constituted by the bottom wall 12. If desired the shelves 172 may be dispensed with and the interior of compartment 22' will be accordingly unobstructed. Furthermore, the compartment 22' may be provided with any desired partitioning arrangement and may be provided with any desired hardware or support means to facilitate the hanging of articles in said compartment. The receptacle 10 is provided with upright members 188 and 188 which are secured to the side walls 176 and portions of rear wall 177, respectively, and to the lower and upper frame members 186 and 187, respectively, to further rigidify the assembly. Accordingly, it will be apparent that receptacle 10' is structurally similar in all respects to receptacle 10 except that receptacle 10 is provided with an article compartment 22' instead of the hamper compartment 22 of receptacle 10.

As aforenoted, cover 18 of receptacle 10 is cut away as indicated at 78, said cut away portion providing clearance for the use of the step 106' of the ladder as will be readily apparent, it being understood thatcover 18, which is in fixed relation with the receptacle 10, is provided with a similar cut away portion 78'.

It will be evident from the above that the receptacles 10 and 10 constitute a firm support for the ladder 102 when the latter is extended for use as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The covers 18 and 18' of the receptacles 10 and 10', respectively, constitute the top step of the ladder in the use of the same, it being noted that said covers are laterally displaced widthwise of the steps 106 of the ladder 102 when the latter is in its extended position. The ladder 102 is normally contained in its associated compartment 24 when not in use and is readily and facilely movable outwardly of said compartment to extended positions in the aforedescribed manner. The receptacle 10 aforedescribed, is provided with a pair of compartments 22 and 24 with compartment 22 constituting a clotheshamper and with the compartment 24 constituting a ladder compartment. It will also be evident from the above description that the combination receptacle and ladder 10 is of generally improved construction and appearance, and is extremely compact whereby to facilitate the movement and storage of the same.

While I have shown and described the preferred embodiments of my invention, it will be understood that various changes may be made in the present invention Without departing from the underlying idea or principles of the invention within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. A combination ladder and receptacle, comprising a receptacle having a vertical partition member secured therein to define a pair of laterally adjacent difierent size compartments, the smallerof said compartments being open at one side thereof and the larger of said compartments being open at the top thereof, a movable cover for said top opening, and a ladder mounted for vertical and pivotal movement to and from a retracted position in which said ladder is disposed within said smaller compartment and to and from an extended position in which a length of said ladder is disposed outside said smaller compartment for support by a supporting surface and said receptacle, means mounting one end of said ladder to said receptacle for movement between said retracted and extended positions, said ladder in said extended position thereof having a top step vertically and horizontally spaced from said cover when the latter is disposed in covering relation with said top opening, whereby said cover constitutes a step for conjoint association with said ladder in said extended position thereof when said cover is disposed in covering relation with said top opening.

2. A combination ladder and receptacle, comprising a receptacle having a vertical partition member secured therein to define a pair of laterally adjacent different size compartments, the smaller of said compartments being open at one side thereof and the larger of said compartments being open at the top thereof, a movable cover for said top opening, and a ladder mounted for vertical and pivotal movement to and from a retracted position in which said ladder is disposed within said smaller compartment and to and from an extended position in which a length of said ladder is disposed outside said smaller compartment for support by a supporting surface and said receptacle, means mounting one end of said ladder to said receptacle for movement between said retracted and extended positions, said ladder in said extended position thereof having a top step vertically and horizontally spaced from said cover when the latter is disposed in covering relation with said top opening, whereby said cover constitutes a step for conjoint association with said ladder in said extended position thereof when said cover is disposed in covering relation with said top opening, said smaller compartment comprising opposite vertically extending side walls, and said mounting means comprising vertically extending tracks secured to said side walls, said one end of said ladder having pivot means guided for vertical movement along said tracks.

3. A combination ladder and receptacle, comprising a receptacle having a vertical partition member secured therein to define a pair of laterally adjacent different size compartments, the smaller of said compartments being open at one side thereof and the larger of said compartments being open at the top thereof, a movable cover for said top opening, and a ladder mounted for vertical and pivotal movement to and from a retracted position in which said ladder is disposed within said smaller compartment and to and from an extended position in which a length of said ladder is disposed outside said smaller compartment for support by a supporting surface and said receptacle, means mounting one end of said ladder to said receptacle for movement between said retracted and extended positions, said ladder in said extended position thereof having a top step vertically and horizontally spaced from said cover when the latter is disposed in covering relation with said top opening, whereby said cover constitutes a step for conjoint association with said ladder in said extended position thereof when said cover is disposed in covering relation with said top opening, said ladder comprising a pair of laterally spaced longitudinally extending members, and a plurality of steps secured between said members in vertically spaced relation, said steps being laterally oifset widthwise and substantially horizontally disposed when said ladder is in said 2,526,767 Parker Oct. 24, 1950 extended position. 2,555,149 Mushta May 29, 1951 2,584,642 Tuttle Feb. 5, 1952 References Cited in the file of this patent 2,622,7 3 Mahgney Dec, 23, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENTS 5 2,658,640 'Bayles Nov. 10, 1953' 37,594 Stagg Feb. 3, 1863 FOREIGN PATENTS 934,316 Jones 1*- 14, 1909 628,207 Great Britain Aug. 24, 1949 1,320,008 Holwick Oct. 28, 1919 

